THE WHITE LINEN IS VERY SIGNIFICANT
Each year on The Day of Atonement all ordinary priest and The High Priest were to wear garments made of high-quality white linen.
One would need to understand the strange qualities of this linen to fully appreciate these garments.
I found this phenomenon to be a fascinating subject, and it led me into a full study about the qualities of linen derived from flax. I hope to write another separate article on those discoveries in the future. It was interesting to find this to be the main subject of today’s Deuteronomy Bible Study lesson.
Deuteronomy 22: 11 says: “You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together.
ONLY LINEN AND WOOL
To summarize for today; the Torah mentions ONLY linen and wool as useable fabrics.
There are also very specific instructions not to mix the two together. God is repeating Himself in this passage from Deuteronomy in Chapter 22. He had given these instructions way back in the wilderness too.
Certain modern-day scientists have discovered that both linen and wool have distinct scientific frequencies. An even stranger fact is that If you mix these two fabrics together, these frequencies will completely cancel each other out and neither of them will be effective.
Ezekiel 44:17-18 speaks of the above:
“And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that they shall put on linen garments; no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the Temple. They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat.”
Note that this was the description used for the “garments” and NOT the ephod that the High Priest wore. More on that topic at a later date; most likely next week’s lesson (hint, hint.)
WHY LINEN?
The discussions of the priesthood and the use of linen make me think of Edna Hibel’s famous paintings of King David. She did a beautiful series of sketches of King David which show him wearing a white linen turban.
As a child in Sunday School, these facts about linen belonging to royalty were something that was rarely taught. There were always many pictures of David as a young boy wearing the garments of the shepherd, but never the garments of a priest or a king. Yet; we know David as a servant, prophet, priest and king; just as we see the same picture of Jesus with a coming future Kingship.
These paintings by Hibel, showing David as a King who was wearing the priestly garments were very instrumental and revealing to me. It first alerted me to the fact that God had chosen linen to be the very BEST of all fabrics. Linen was meant to be used by royalty and white linen is a gift Christ will one day bestow upon his Bride. This Bride will be dressed in white linen, without spot or blemish. He IS coming back for her and that is when the Kingship will truly begin. Together; they will rule and reign forever with the full blessings of The Father.
Because of the way these particular garments speak about King David, I have grown very fond of this series of paintings by this amazing artist; who still paints in a little town called Jupiter, Florida. She is of Jewish heritage; so she always saw David as a King and her sketches show his life progressing beyond that of a shepherd into a royal being. It was the use of the linen in his clothing that gave me the first clue.
When Jesus returns again; will it be the linen in the garments of The Church that helps Him to know her true identity?
Is the Church of God maintaining it’s proper identity today by staying pure and clean and white as we await His return?
Do we have those “linen” qualities of strength, durability, protection, healing and well-being?
WHITE LINEN IS VERY STRONG AND DURABLE
The priestly garments of white linen worn by King David were made of vegetable fibers (a certain type of linen) which were three times stronger than cotton. This linen made from flax is lint-free. The fabric gets softer whenever it is washed. It has a high moisture retention. Linen cloth resists dirt and stains and is strong and durable. Fine linen is so durable that when Tutankhamen’s tomb was opened the ancient linen curtains (made of this type of linen) were found fully intact.
Do we imitate this great quality of linen in our spiritual walk?
Is it possible that our hearts get softer the more we are washed by the blood of Jesus?
The various colors of the flax flower that linen is made from are blue, violet, scarlet and white. These colors just happen to be the colors God specified to be used in the wilderness tabernacle. I love that the colors vary. It is like God wanted a bouquet for the Bride to be very colorful and every color should be celebrated to make up the most special and the purest type of cloth covering.
God was reminding Moses to remind the people of all of these things they already knew; but needed to KEEP ON KNOWING. The new nation of Israel would be known for remembering so many of these things.
THE HEALTH QUALITIES OF LINEN
Linen has great and wonderful health and healing qualities.
Have you ever slept on linen sheets?
Try it and see. You will fall asleep easier and faster and you will sleep deeper. You will wake up in a good mood every morning.
As you sleep the qualities in the linen actually help to repair the body by harmonizing with your body’s cells. The elements in the flax that makes the linen protects from chemical exposure, noise and dust.
LINEN GARMENTS HAVE A PROTECTIVE QUALITY ABOUT THEM
Linen clothing made from flax reduces solar gamma radiation by almost half; thereby protecting people wearing linen from the hot rays of the sun in the desert.
A Nobel prize winner named Dr. Otto Heinrich Warburg identified something in humans called signature frequency numbers. Most humans average from 70 to 90 frequencies when they are healthy. When they get chronic diseases these frequencies go down to 50. When the frequencies drop to 15 or below, the person effected is usually dealing with life-threatening illnesses.
Scientist have studied the effects of these frequencies when exposed to linen as opposed to the use of wool. The results are very interesting; but first let’s look at the qualities of wool in contrast to the qualities of linen. Because of the common herds of sheep and the fact that Israel was known for having the best and greatest shepherds; wool was much easier for the ordinary person to obtain and use.
THE TWO BIBLICAL FABRICS
Wool worn by itself has a frequency measurement of 5,000.
Linen worn by itself also has a frequency measurement of 5,000.
If people want to maintain proper health in their body frequencies; it is recommended they wear either wool or linen. These are both very strong fabrics when used in purity.
If you mix linen and wool though; the mixture is not good and the fabric tears easily and falls apart. The combination will not hold its shape. If you mix them together. you neither get protection from the cold or protection from the heat; the cloth becomes non-effective in either use. These two fabrics are very strong and good when used alone; but when mixed they become very weak and worthless for use.
HOW GOD PROVIDES FOR HIS PEOPLE
Our Father always thinks of every little detail when it comes to our comfort in life.
It seems that God created the perfect fibers for making fabrics; one suitable for summer (linen,) and one suitable for winter (wool.)
We should use them as God intended and we will always be happy with the outcome.
In this we see the intentions of our Creator as He was bringing about Creation. He did not overlook even the tiniest details.
He thought of everything; and He designated the proper place and use for everything.
DO NOT CANCEL THE GOOD QUALITIES BY MIXING WITH THE WRONG ELEMENTS
So; enjoy using both wool and linen; but never wear them together; because as we mentioned above – they each cancel out the benefits of the other when combined. Their combination makes the healing frequencies for each fabric go down to zero.
How many of you are using linen sheets to sleep on; but have a wool blanket thrown over the sheets? You are destroying the healing qualities found in both materials. You should only use one at a time if you care about the best outcome.
Are we getting the deeper meaning of God’s messages here?
He is clearly telling us that some qualities do not mix.
Some things were made to be used only in a certain, specific way.
FOLLOW THE NATURAL PATHS
God wants us to have productive lives, and He is explaining to us what our common sense does not always pick up on. He knows this; so he gives us that simple first layer of the equation; “do not mix linen with wool” and lets us use our brains a bit to take this teaching to an even higher level.
It is as if God is saying; “follow the natural paths – do not try to force things that do not mix.”
Why do humans always have to experiment and find things out the hard way?
Our Father has been so good to tell us all that we need to live the best lives possible.
Still; so many of us have that human tendency to always test everything. We have to take it to the limit before we are convinced that some things are not meant to be.
Is this the way you have chosen to go through life?
I was that way too.
One day I decided to trust God completely and let Him have control.
When God The Father showed me something that I would usually experiment with or turn around; I simply trusted in Him instead.
After a few times of this action, trust and obedience become a natural process in my walk with God.
Things were so much better. I never want to walk back to the old ways again.
There is certain peace in following in the ancient paths that God clearly established from the foundations of the world. Just remember; do not mix linen and wool. There is one exception to the rule; and we will discuss it next Thursday.